.40S&W ...... recoil of 165gr vs 180gr

CanuckShooter

CanuckShooter

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Anyone here have a preference between the recoil or other characteristics of165 grain and 180 grain bullets for a gun chambered in .40S&W?

Looking to pick some up for my dad for his S&W 4006.

Do the 165's have more snap to them or is the 15 grain reduction really not great enough to feel a difference? This is assuming of course they both have the same powder load behind them.

Thanks
 
Factory rounds of the same brand will be very similar in recoil. That being said there are certain brands that are hotter than others. The decreased bullet weight is typically countered by a hair more velocity. You MAY be able to find low recoil loads but to really soften them up you need to reload.
 
I just fired off about 50 rds of 165 Gr Win FMJ, and 50 rds of Speer 180 Gr FMJ in four different Glocks, testing for accuracy and zero.

I felt that the Winchester 165 Gr loads had noticeably more recoil,
of course
YPMMV
LAZ 1
 
I assume you mean with factory ammo??

I load my 40 down so it has a IDPA power factor of around 130.

I have tried 180, 170 and 155. I was shocked at how much softer the 155s were. If you don't need the power, 155 lead or plated bullet over about 4 gr of 231 is a real pop gun to shoot.
 
180's are death.

Not only do I dislike the 180 grain bullet in all configurations, they are just as snappy as the 45acp 200's. Skip them now. Might as well shoot 45acp!
I switched a couple of years ago to a very nice Magma Engineering 155 grain SWC in cast lead. Feeds terrific and is incredibly accurate. 155 grain.
With a little bit of PROMO powder [same as RedDot] you can achieve incredible scores with it.
Just recently, Magma Engineering has developed a 160grain cast RN bullet for 40. Will try it out this week, but their 155 SWC is the best, most accurate 40 caliber bullet out there. Bar none.
 
Thanks for all the info everyone. I don't like .40S&W either Hatman lol but my dad insists on sticking with the caliber. If it was up to me I would only shoot and reload 45ACP, and 9mm. I'll get him to try the 165gr or lighter if we can find them.

I shoot 200gr SWC's through my 1911 and I don't find them snappy... BUT... I have never shot 230gr bullets through a 1911 before, so I really have no comparison. Though I find the 200's a pleasure compared to any 40 round I have ever shot.
 
I don't think anyone was saying that .40S&W kicks hard.... but it has an abrupt snap to it, which causes a lot of muzzle flip. A lot of people, myself included, find the nature of the recoil very annoying.
 
I only shoot .40SW on two platform and sporadically 9mm.
In Glock my loads are low at 130-135PF with 170gr AIM, almost
no recoil and for SV 180PF with 185gr bullets. Yes, I can feel recoil more,
despite bigger and heavier gun.
 
I shoot 15-20K 40s a year;

If you're into power factor, (bullet wt X bullet velocity)
The same power factored 165gr 40s are definitely snappier than 180 gr. 40s (as 180gr 40s are snappier than 200 gr)

As the snap goes down, though - so does the cycle speed... a trade off.

Judge your choice according to your intended application.
 
Freedom Ventures said:
I shoot 15-20K 40s a year;

If you're into power factor, (bullet wt X bullet velocity)
The same power factored 165gr 40s are definitely snappier than 180 gr. 40s (as 180gr 40s are snappier than 200 gr)

As the snap goes down, though - so does the cycle speed... a trade off.

Judge your choice according to your intended application.
Click to expand...

So your splits get lower?
Can the differences be measured and if so how much did you pick up?
Thanks for sharing.
 
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